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Privacy advocacy group addresses mobile apps

May 31, 2011

As part of its ongoing effort to pre-empt the introduction of apps that create potential privacy issues, the non-profit privacy advocacy group Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) has launched a new website to help application developers provide users of their creations with privacy protections.

ApplicationPrivacy.org is designed to provide a wealth of privacy information on app development and usage, including emerging standards, best practices, privacy guidelines, platform and app store requirements and information on laws and regulatory guidance related to app development.

This new site augments FPF’s ongoing efforts to promote app privacy. Recently, the organization teamed with the Center for Democracy & Technology to try and engage app developers, device manufactures and creators of mobile platforms to develop a set of best practices and privacy principles for mobile apps.

As evidence to the necessity of such guidelines, the FPF points to its own recent survey that found that 22 of the 30 most popular mobile apps lacked even a basic privacy policy where consumers could learn about what data is collected or exchanged when they download the app.

According to FPF, but Facebook and AT&T will be promoting the site to developers to help them navigate the development process with privacy in mind, and FPF is urging other companies to do the same. Other organizations involved in the creation of the site include the Center for Democracy and Technology, Google, Infield Health, Intel, MoDev, Savvy Apps, TRUSTe, Zerion Software, Zynga, and 3ADVANCE.